Content
Canadian spruce Konica is not intended for growing as a houseplant. Conifers generally make demands on living conditions that are easy to provide on the street, but in the house - almost impossible. There are a few exceptions, such as Araucaria. You can care for a Konika spruce in a pot carefully and regularly, but in the house it will still die sooner or later.
But it is quite possible for a plant bought as a New Year’s tree to survive until it is planted in the ground. True, only if the Konika spruce was initially viable.
How to choose Konica
Before the New Year, spruce trees are sold everywhere. Attractive potted trees with a peat substrate are even available in supermarkets. When buying such a spruce, most people expect to plant it later on their garden plot, or leave it as a houseplant.
Why does Konika often die after the New Year?
Most often, the tree dies soon after the holiday, and the new owners are not to blame for this. Why?
Most Canadian Konika spruces, which are 15-20 cm tall and sold in pots, come from abroad. During transportation, they are placed on pallets and wrapped in film to retain moisture. But the container may be delayed at the border or on the road; no one will water it, especially if the plants are on racks wrapped in cellophane.
As a result, the potted spruce will die - because the culture cannot tolerate the substrate drying out. But this will not be noticeable immediately - even dead conifers retain their inherent color for a long time. Then the Canadian Konica spruce will be unpacked and watered. Not everyone will be able to tell by eye that the plant is already dead.
In especially “neglected” cases, when Konika has already begun to dry, the trees are treated with sparkles, silver or gold. No one will paint a living plant - it will certainly die.
In addition, in ordinary supermarkets there is no room for keeping plants; there are no specially trained people who will care for conifers. Even if there is a competent amateur there, he simply will not have time for this. And no one will hire an individual or relieve an employee of his main duties.
Of course, you can go to the garden center to get Konika, but even there they are trying to sell off all the illiquid goods for the New Year. And is it worth tormenting a good plant in order to enjoy its presence in the house for a few days, and then earn yourself a headache until spring?
How to choose a viable Konica spruce
It is impossible to guarantee that Konika, purchased as a New Year's tree, will survive until it is planted in the ground. How can you be sure that the plant was not overdried on the eve of purchase and then put in order. However, the choice of spruce must be taken seriously.
The spruce will definitely not survive until spring:
- Painted. There is a 100% chance that any plant will die if all its pores are blocked. Yes, no one will paint a living spruce - this is how they camouflage dry pine needles.
- Dry. Even a single overdrying of the substrate can cause the death of Konika.
- With signs of disease or pest damage. It’s already difficult to fight them on Konica spruce, and even more so at home.
- When at least part of the needles has dried up.
- If some branches of the Konika spruce are cut off, this is a clear sign that the tree was put in order after being damaged by drought or overwatering.
This does not mean that such an ephedra cannot be purchased. Of course, you can, but after the holiday you will have to throw it away or turn it into a dust collector.
When choosing Konica spruce, you should pay attention to the following points:
- Needles and branches. They should be elastic, not break when bent, without signs of drying out or injury. If at least the tips of the needles have changed color, you cannot buy the spruce.
- Smell. First you should smell Konika - the distinct aroma of pine needles only means that the seller wants to hide something and used a fragrance. An intact spruce tree in a pot does not smell of anything. Then you need to lightly rub the needle and smell your fingers. The aroma of black currant will show that the pot is really a Canadian spruce, and at least its needles are alive.
- Earthen com. It will have to be examined carefully, and it is better to ask the seller for permission. If they refuse, it’s better not to take Konica.The “correct” spruce can be easily removed from the container along with the substrate braided with roots. It should smell like fresh earth and nothing else. Extraneous aromas, signs of rotting and a lot of dried roots signal that it is better to leave Konica in the store.
- Naturally, the spruce must be watered, have no signs of diseases or pests.
Features of growing Glauconica spruce in a pot
Konika spruce is absolutely not suitable for growing in an apartment, but it can live there for several months. In winter, this requires low temperatures, high humidity and a lot of sun.
Canadian spruce in a pot suffers from heat and dry air, especially near radiators or other heating devices. For normal life, the tree needs a period of rest with negative temperatures, so it will not survive more than one winter in a room.
The homemade Konika spruce in a pot on the windowsill feels uncomfortable even in the summer. Of course, you can take it out into the garden in the warm season, and in winter put it in an unheated room, where it is illuminated with a phytolamp. But we are talking about an indoor plant, not a container plant. It should decorate a living space, not a barn.
It only makes sense to do this in winter. Even if Konika came to the site in a hot summer, and it is impossible to immediately plant it in the ground, it is better to bury the pot under a spreading bush or tree with a dense crown. The spruce will feel much better there than indoors.
Optimal conditions for growing Glauka spruce at home
It is impossible to create optimal conditions for the prickly spruce at home. This tree should grow outside. Even with ideal care for the Glauconica spruce in a pot, the conifer will die, but not quickly, but slowly.
However, what optimal conditions can we talk about if the crop needs negative temperatures in winter?
How to care for a potted Canadian spruce
Caring for Glauca spruce at home is more inconvenient than difficult. It is impossible to provide ideal conditions for Konike there, and it is difficult to provide acceptable ones.
Transfer rules
Canadian spruce does not like transplants, but at a young age it tolerates them better than an adult tree. But if Konika’s roots are disturbed, it will take a long time to recover. And is it necessary to injure the plant if it is still transplanted into the ground in the spring?
To answer this question, you should carefully examine the earthen ball. After the spruce is brought home, the pot is placed in a place protected from the sun for several days, separate from other plants for adaptation. At this time, it is watered moderately so as to only moisten the substrate.
Then they prepare the workplace, for example, covering the table with old newspapers. Remove the Konica from the pot so as not to disturb the earthen lump. They examine it carefully and smell it. If the smell is fresh, the roots are well entwined with the substrate, but the pot is not completely filled, the Canadian spruce is simply returned to the pot.
If signs of root rot are found that were not noticed when purchased, Konica needs to be saved. It's unlikely that this will work, but it's worth a try:
- The root is freed from the substrate, washed under running water, and all rotten shoots are cut off.
- Soak for 30 minutes in a solution of foundationazole, powder the sections with crushed activated carbon.
- Prepare a larger container with drainage holes and special soil for conifers. It is recommended to add charcoal to it; activated tablets can be broken into 2-4 parts for these purposes.
- Plant Konica at the same depth, having first filled ¼ of the pot’s volume with expanded clay. In this case, the substrate is compacted by gently pressing it with your fingers.
- Water with a solution of root or heteroauxin.
If everything is fine with the root, but it has filled the entire volume of the container, transshipment is done. It practically does not injure the Canadian spruce, and will allow it to survive until spring - in a pot almost devoid of substrate, it is easy to overwater or dry out the Konikika.
To do this, take a larger container, add drainage to the bottom, and a thin layer of substrate for conifers on top. The Canadian spruce is taken out of the old pot so as not to destroy the earthen ball, placed in a new container, and the voids are filled with soil, carefully compacting it.
The planting depth of Konica should be the same as in the previous container.
Temperature and lighting
In order for Konika to feel good in winter, she needs negative temperatures. This cannot be achieved when caring for Canadian spruce at home. It should be placed at least in the coolest place possible.
The conic can be placed on a bright balcony, loggia or, if possible, between the window frames. But the branches should not touch the glass - it quickly heats up and cools down, and the temperature difference will negatively affect the tree, which is already experiencing discomfort.
Canadian spruce needs to be provided with sufficient lighting. Any window will do, but on the southern Konik it should be shaded on a sunny afternoon.If necessary, the tree is illuminated for at least 6 hours a day, and it is better to use a phytolamp.
Watering mode
The earthen clod of Konika grown in the room must not be allowed to dry out, otherwise it will die. Overwatering is also undesirable - the root may rot. Between moistenings, the top layer of the substrate should dry out a little.
To check the need for watering, the index finger is immersed in the soil away from the root. It should dry from above, but no more than to the depth of the first phalanx.
The pot must be placed on a tray where excess water will drain. It is drained 15 minutes after watering Konika so that the liquid does not stagnate.
Air humidity
Canadian spruce needs to be sprayed with a household spray bottle several times a day. Overdrying the needles can lead to the death of Konika. It is useful to place pebbles or sphagnum moss in the tray and wet them periodically.
To make care easier, Canadian spruce is placed in a voluminous pot, and the space between its walls and the pot is filled with wet sphagnum or acidic peat. Their fibrous structure retains moisture well.
Feeding homemade Konika spruce
In winter, Canadian spruce is not fed. Untimely application of fertilizer can cause Konica to exit the dormant period prematurely. At best, this will cause the tree to weaken, and it will take root less well after transplantation; at worst, it will die.
Protection from diseases and pests
If a healthy Canadian spruce was brought into the house, and the other plants are not affected by diseases or pests, problems should not arise. Otherwise, it will be difficult to correct the situation - Konika is already suffering indoors, she does not need extra stress.
At home, Canadian spruce is treated against pests with Actelik, and against diseases - with a fungicide that does not contain metal oxides. The konica is taken out into a non-residential area, sprayed, placed together with the pot in a large bag, tied, and removed after 30-40 minutes. The Canadian spruce is returned to the house and quarantined, with reduced lighting, for at least a week.
Advice from experienced gardeners
It is impossible to place Konica next to heating devices, but what to do if there is a battery under each window? You can protect the Canadian spruce at least a little by placing foil on the radiator.
At night the glass cools down greatly, and at noon it heats up. If you place newspaper between it and Konika, this will help protect the plant from temperature changes.
To increase humidity, you can place saucers of water next to the Canadian spruce.
Spraying with epin once every 10-14 days will have a beneficial effect not only on Konica, but will be useful for all indoor plants.
Conclusion
Caring for a Konika spruce in a pot is a thankless task. Even if you don’t make a single mistake, the tree can still die; it’s just not meant to be grown indoors.
